The American Congress: The Building of Democracy
Congress is the heart and soul of our democracy, the place where interests are brokered, laws are established, and innovation is turned into concrete action. It is also where some of democracy's greatest virtues clash with its worst vices: idealism and compromise meet corruption and bitter partisanship. The American Congress unveils the rich and varied history of this singular institution.
Julian E. Zelizer has gathered together forty essays by renowned historians to capture the full drama, landmark legislation, and most memorable personalities of Congress. Organized around four major periods of congressional history, from the signing of the Constitution to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, this volume brings a fresh perspective to familiar watershed events: the Civil War, Watergate, the Vietnam War. It also gives a behind-the-scenes look at lesser-known legislation debated on the House and Senate floors, such as westward expansion and war powers control. Here are the stories behind the 1868 vote to impeach President Andrew Johnson; the rise of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress and a leading advocate for pacifism; and the controversy surrounding James Eastland of Mississippi, who carried civil rights bills in his pockets so they could not come up for a vote. Sidebars further spotlight notables including Huey Long, Sam Rayburn, and Tip O'Neill, bringing the sweeping history of our lawmaking bodies into sharp focus. If you've ever wondered how Congress worked in the past or what our elected officials do today, this book gives the engaging, often surprising, answers. |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Contents
PASLEY
|
38 |
Governance JOHN LAURITZ LARSON
|
112 |
THE PARTISAN ERA 1830s1900s
|
131 |
Territorial Expansion BARTHOLOMEW H SPARROW
|
168 |
Impeachment DONALD A RITCHIE
|
239 |
THE COMMITTEE ERA 1910s1960s
|
311 |
19 The Transformation of the Congressional Experience ERIC RAUCHWAY
|
319 |
Economic Regulation in the Progressive
|
337 |
The Cold War RANDALL BENNETT WOODS
|
493 |
Investigating Communism DONALD A RITCHIE
|
515 |
The Second Reconstruction TIMOTHY N THURBER
|
529 |
The Warren Court and the Political Process L A POWE JR
|
548 |
The Great Society EDWARD D BERKOWITZ
|
566 |
The Vietnam War FREDRIK LOGEVALL
|
584 |
The Environment PAUL c MILAZZO
|
601 |
THE CONTEMPORARY ERA 1970sToday
|
617 |
ELIZABETH SANDERS
|
350 |
The Seventeenth and Twentieth Amendments to the Constitution DAVID E KYVIG
|
356 |
Womens Activism ALISON M PARKER
|
370 |
The Transformation of American Immigration Policy DANIEL J TICHENOR
|
395 |
Probibition THOMAS R PEGRAM
|
411 |
The First World War JOSEPH A MCCARTIN
|
428 |
The Forgotten New Deal Congress PATRICK MANEY
|
446 |
Conservatism and Constituency Politics
|
474 |
HAMBY
|
489 |
Congressional Reform BARBARA SINCLAIR
|
625 |
Congress and Watergate BRUCE J SCHULMAN
|
638 |
Congress and the Media MICHAEL SCHUDSON
|
650 |
Congress and the Budget Since 1974 ERIC PATASHNIK
|
668 |
39 War Power LOUIS FISHER
|
687 |
Conservatives in Congress DONALD T CRITCHLOW
|
703 |
733 | |
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
|
766 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
administration African Americans amendment authority Bank became bill budget C-SPAN campaign Capitol Hill century chair civil rights cloture committee congressional conservative constitutional Court debate defeat districts early economic efforts election electoral executive favored federal government Federalists filibuster floor Follette force foreign policy gress Henry Henry Cabot Lodge Henry Clay Homestead Act immigration Indian initiatives issues Jackson James John Johnson labor land lawmakers leaders leadership legislative legislature liberal lobbying Madison majority measure members of Congress ment military Nixon northern opposed organized partisan passed percent political politicians president presidential programs proposed railroad Reagan reform representatives Republic Republican party resolution role Roosevelt rules slavery slaves social South South Carolina southern Democrats Speaker subcommittee tariff territories tion tional tive treaty U.S. Senate Union United veto Vietnam vote voters Washington Watergate West western Whigs White House white supremacy William Wilson woman suffrage women York
Popular passages
Page 6 - Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests, which interests each must maintain, as an agent and advocate, against other agents and advocates; but Parliament is a deliberative assembly of one nation with one interest — that of the whole: where, not local purposes, not local prejudices ought to guide, but the general good, resulting from the general reason of the whole. You choose a member, indeed; but when you have chosen him, he is not a member of Bristol,...