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Cover image of The Invention of the United States Senate
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The Invention of the United States Senate

Daniel Wirls and Stephen Wirls

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The invention of the United States Senate was the most complicated and confounding achievement of the Constitutional Convention. Although much has been written on various aspects of Senate history, this is the first book to examine and link the three central components of the Senate's creation: the theoretical models and institutional precedents leading up to the Constitutional Convention; the work of the Constitutional Convention on both the composition and powers of the Senate; and the initial institutionalization of the Senate from ratification through the early years of Congress. The...

The invention of the United States Senate was the most complicated and confounding achievement of the Constitutional Convention. Although much has been written on various aspects of Senate history, this is the first book to examine and link the three central components of the Senate's creation: the theoretical models and institutional precedents leading up to the Constitutional Convention; the work of the Constitutional Convention on both the composition and powers of the Senate; and the initial institutionalization of the Senate from ratification through the early years of Congress. The authors show how theoretical principles of a properly constructed Senate interacted with political interests and power politics in the multidimensional struggle to construct the Senate, before, during, and after the convention.

Reviews

Reviews

This exemplary new book by Daniel and Stephen Wirls brings theory and history together in a lucid and timely analysis of this pivotal institution's formation and early development in a way suitable for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

Two learned political scientists explore the foundations and early development of the US Senate.

A masterful treatment of the origins and early evolution of the U.S. Senate... Extremely well-written and informed... Raises the bar substantially for future studies of congressional development.

Highly scholarly but also highly engaging work.

No previous work offers an account that ties the theoretical and practical origins of the Senate with its early institutional development. Wirls and Wirls prove to be able guides and their journey worthy of our efforts.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
248
ISBN
9780801874390
Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Daniel Wirls

Daniel Wirls is a professor and chair of the Department of Politics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is the coauthor of The Invention of the United States Senate, also published by Johns Hopkins, and the author of Buildup: The Politics of Defense in the Reagan Era.