From the end of the New Deal until quite recently, the U.S. House of Representatives was dominated by a conservative coalition that thwarted the Democratic majority and prevented the enactment of measures proposed by a succession of liberal Presidents. Today Presidents aren't necessarily liberal and the House of Representatives is not necessarily the graveyard of presidential proposals. What happened? Congress evolved. It all began with airconditioning.

In this entertaining tale of one of our most august institutions, Nelson Polsby describes how the Democratic majority finally succeeded in overcoming the conservative coalition, changing the House. The evolution required among other things, the disappearance of Dixiecrats from the House Democratic caucus. Dixiecrats were replaced by the rise of the Republican party in the south. The Republican party in southern states was strengthened by an influx of migrants from the north, who came south to settle after the introduction of residential air conditioning, which made the climate more tolerable to Northerners. This evolutionary process led to the House's liberalization and concluded with the House's later transformation into an arena of sharp partisanship, visible among both Democrats and Republicans.

A fascinating read by one of our most influential political scientists, How Congress Evolves breathes new life into the dusty corners of institutional history, and offers a unique explanation for important transformations in the congressional environment.

Polsby and Wildavsky’s classic text, now updated by Stephen Schier and David Hopkins, argues that the institutional rules of the presidential nomination and election processes, in combination with the behavior of the mass electorate, structure the strategic choices faced by politicians in powerful and foreseeable ways. We can make sense of the decisions made by different political actors—incumbents, challengers, Democrats, Republicans, consultants, party officials, activists, delegates, journalists, and voters—by understanding the ways in which their world is organized by incentives, regulations, events, resources, customs, and opportunities. Thoroughly revised and updated, this Sixteenth Edition provides everything students need to know about presidential elections going into the 2024 cycle.

This book examines the lawmaking bodies of the United states and the Germany and their constitutional duties and limitations. It is a first ever joint US-German parliamentary study that compares and contrasts two of the democratic West's most powerful legislatures.

This book examines the lawmaking bodies of the United states and the Germany and their constitutional duties and limitations. It is a first ever joint US-German parliamentary study that compares and contrasts two of the democratic West's most powerful legislatures.

In this greatly entertaining tale of one of our most august institutions, Nelson Polsby argues that among other things, from the 50's to the 90's, Congress evolved. In short, Polsby argues that air conditioning altered the demography of the southern states, which in turn changed the political parties of the South, which transformed the composition and in due course the performance of the US House of Representatives. This evolutionary process led to the House's liberalization and later to its transformation into an arena of sharp partisanship, visible among both Democrats and Republicans. How Congress Evolves breathes new life into the dusty corners of institutional history, and offers a unique explanation for important transformations in the congressional environment.

Essays in Defense of the Constitution
A Twentieth Century Fund Book

Three prominent and highly visible writers confront the threats posed by current challenges to the American Constitution.

In the aftermath of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, three of its most gifted participants--Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay--wrote a series of eighty-five essays, published in newspapers throughout the nation, defending the proposed new government against its opponents. Those essays, known today as the Federalist Papers, explain the philosophical basis of the Constitution and defend the idea of republican government against charges that it would lead to tyranny.

Today's political controversies call into question some of the principles that have shaped government through most of this century. New Federalist Papers, written by three constitutional experts, defends the representative democracy put in place by the framers of the Constitution. Like Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, the authors of New Federalist Papers see danger in the effort to diminish and relocate federal power. They recognize that it is the task of public discourse to bring about reasoned consideration of such issues as gun control, term limits, flag burning, the balanced budget amendment, and campaign finance reform.

How are public policies initiated in American politics? Do they spring fully formed from the furrowed brow of the President? Are they the product of congressional committees? This pathbreaking book by Nelson Polsby looks for the first time at the process of political innovation. Drawing examples from foreign and domestic policy, Polsby examines the genesis of eight major new government initiatives: the Peace Corps, the Truman Doctrine, the Council of Economic Advisers, Medicare, Community Action Programs, the National Science Foundation, civilian, control of atomic energy, and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Polsby has explored empirically the preconditions of political innovations, and he draws conclusions that have general applicability for the understanding of innovation in the American political system. His characteristically witty and stimulating book opens a third branch of inquiry in political science-on a coequal footing with the study of legislative enactment politics and the study of policy implementation.

Polsby and Wildavsky’s classic text, now updated by Stephen Schier and David Hopkins, argues that the institutional rules of the presidential nomination and election processes, in combination with the behavior of the mass electorate, structure the strategic choices faced by politicians in powerful and foreseeable ways. We can make sense of the decisions made by different political actors—incumbents, challengers, Democrats, Republicans, consultants, party officials, activists, delegates, journalists, and voters—by understanding the ways in which their world is organized by incentives, regulations, events, resources, customs, and opportunities. Thoroughly revised and updated, this Sixteenth Edition provides everything students need to know about presidential elections going into the 2024 cycle.

Full of data and examples from the 2000 and 2004 elections, the eleventh edition of this classic text offers a complete overview of the presidential election process from the earliest straw polls and fundraisers to final voter turnout and exit interview. Presidential Elections shares comprehensive coverage of the elections of the early 2000s, including campaign strategy, the sequence of electoral events, and the issues, all from the perspective of the various actors in the election process: voters, interest groups, political parties, the media and the candidates themselves. Nelson Polsby is a master of debunking myths and analyzing trends. In this fortieth birthday edition of Presidential Elections, he continues the tradition he and Aaron Wildavsky established as co-authors and goes one step further in following contemporary trends in frontloading and the regulation of political finance.