Partisan gerrymandering and the construction of American democracy / Erik J. Engstrom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Engstrom, Erik J.

Series:

Legislative politics & policy making

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gerrymandering--United States.

Gerrymandering.

Apportionment (Election law)--United States.

Apportionment (Election law).

United States.

Election districts--United States.

Election districts.

Voting--United States.

Voting.

Representative government and representation--United States.

Representative government and representation.

United States--Politics and government.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

227 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan Press, [2013]

Summary:

"Erik J. Engstrom offers a historical perspective on the effects of gerrymandering on elections and party control of the U.S. national legislature. Aside from the requirements that districts be continuous and, after 1842, that each select only one representative, there were few restrictions on congressional districting. Unrestrained, state legislators drew and redrew districts to suit their own partisan agendas. With the rise of the "one-person, one-vote" doctrine and the implementation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, however, redistricting became subject to court oversight. Engstrom evaluates the abundant cross-sectional and temporal variation in redistricting plans and their electoral results from all the states, from 1789 through the 1960s, to identify the causes and consequences of partisan redistricting. His analysis reveals that districting practices across states and over time systematically affected the competitiveness of congressional elections; shaped the partisan composition of congressional delegations; and, on occasion, determined party control of the House of Representatives"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 Gerrymandering and the Evolution of American Politics 1

Part I The Early Republic, 1789-1840

2 Districting and the Construction of Early American Democracy 21

3 The Origins of Single-Member Districts 43

Part II The Partisan Era, 1840-1900

4 The Strategic Timing of Congressional Redistricting 59

5 Stacking the States, Stacking the House: The Partisan Consequences of Congressional Redistricting 80

6 Electoral Competition and Critical Elections 100

7 A Congress of Strangers: Gerrymandering and Legislative Turnover 130

8 The Partisan Impact of Malapportionment 148

Part III Redistricting in the Candidate-Centered Era, 1900-Present

9 From Turbulence to Stasis, 1900-1964 167

10 Gerrymandering and the Future of American Politics 191.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

047211901X

9780472119011

OCLC:

844308430

Publisher Number:

99955804036