The Right of Instruction and Representation in American Legislatures, 1778 to 1900

Description

The Right of Instruction and Representation in American Legislatures, 1778 to 1900 provides a comprehensive analysis of the role constituent instructions played in American politics for more than a hundred years after its founding. Constituent instructions were more widely issued than previously thought, and members of state legislatures and Congress were more likely to obey them than political scientists and historians have assumed. Peverill Squire expands our understanding of constituent instructions beyond a handful of high-profile cases, through analyses of two unique data sets: one examining more than 5,000 actionable communications (instructions and requests) sent to state legislators by constituents through town meetings, mass meetings, and local representative bodies; the other examines more than 6,600 actionable communications directed by state legislatures to their state’s congressional delegations. He draws the data, examples, and quotes almost entirely from original sources, including government documents such as legislative journals, session laws, town and county records, and newspaper stories, as well as diaries, memoirs, and other contemporary sources. Squire also includes instructions to and from Confederate state legislatures in both data sets. In every respect, the Confederate state legislatures mirrored the legislatures that preceded and followed them. Contents Preface 1. The Misunderstood Role of Constituent Instructions in American Political History The Conventional Wisdom on Constituent Instructions Actionable Communications and Their Pathways to American Legislators Plan of the Book 2. Placing Constituent Instructions in Historical Context Constituent Instructions in the Colonial Era The Confederal Congress and Instructions The Founders, the Constitution, and Constituent Instructions State Constitutions and Constituent Instructions 3. The Public Debate over Constituent Instructions The Pure Trustee Orientation The Pure Delegate Orientation The Conditional Delegate Orientation Primary Assemblies and Constituent Instructions Constituent Instructions versus Petitions Was There a Meaningful Difference between “Instruct” and “Request”? Public Intellectuals and the Right of Instruction The Public and the Right of Instruction Instructions in American Popular Culture 4. Instructing State Legislators, 1778 to 1900 General Expectations Calls for Instructions Town Meetings Mass Meetings Local Representative Bodies Impediments to Issuing Instructions Data on Actionable Communications to State Legislators, 1778 to 1900 Actionable Communications Sent to State Legislators Legislative Districts and Constituent Instructions State Lawmakers and the Right of Instruction The Response of State Legislators to Instructions Actionable Communications Outcomes Political Parties and Instructions Organized Interest Groups and Instructions 5. State Legislators and Instructions to Members of Congress The Philosophical Problem: State Legislatures as Primary Assemblies Other Reservations about the Right of State Legislatures to Issue Instructions Practical Problems: The Mechanics of Issuing Instructions to Members of Congress Partisan Problems: Political Parties and State Legislative Instructions to Congress 6. Members of Congress and Instructions, 1789 to 1899 Potential Senate Candidates and Instructions Calls for Instructing U.S. Senators Data on Actionable Communications to Congress State Legislative Instructions and Requests to Congress The Subjects of Actionable Communications How U.S. Senators Responded to Instructions The Political Repercussions of Not Obeying Instructions Instructions and Requests as Signals The Decline of State Legislative Instructions Supplement: U.S. Representatives and Instructions 7. Constituent Instructions and American Political Development Four Revisions to the Conventional Wisdom on Constituent Instructions Implications for Representation and Federalism Placing Constituent Instructions in Historical Perspective Appendix A: Actionable Communications to State Legislators by State, 1778–1900 Appendix B: Actionable Communications to Congressional Delegations by State, 1790–1899 Notes Index