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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Engstrom, Erik J.

Series:

Legislative politics & policy making.

Legislative politics and policy making

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gerrymandering--United States.

Gerrymandering.

Apportionment (Election law)--United States.

Apportionment (Election law).

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.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (227 pages) : PDF, digital file(s).

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2013]

Language Note:

English

System Details:

text file

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:

Intro

Contents

One. Gerrymandering and the Evolution of American Politics

Part I: The Early Republic, 1789-1840

Two. Districting and the Construction of Early American Democracy

Three. The Origins of Single-Member Districts

Part II: The Partisan Era, 1840-1900

Four. The Strategic Timing of Congressional Redistricting

Five. Stacking the States, Stacking the House: The Partisan Consequences of Congressional Redistricting

Six. Electoral Competition and Critical Elections

Seven. A Congress of Strangers: Gerrymandering and Legislative Turnover

Eight. The Partisan Impact of Malapportionment

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

Nine. From Turbulence to Stasis, 1900-1964

Ten. Gerrymandering and the Future of American Politics

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-221) and index.

CC BY

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472900015

0472900013

9780472029525

0472029525

OCLC:

864551166