The Minority Party and Policy-Making in the House of Representatives

1968 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 481-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles O. Jones
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The United States ◽  
Recent Book ◽  
Minority Party ◽  
Distinctive Group ◽  
The Government ◽  
Sizeable Number

Considerable attention has recently been focused on political oppositions in democracies. A recent book examines oppositions in various western countries and a journal called Government and Opposition was founded in 1965. The significance of the role of an opposition in democracies does not have to be stressed. It is generally accepted.What of the role of the opposition in the United States? Robert A. Dahl notes that one must use the plural when speaking of opposition in this country since, “a distinctive, persistent, unified structural opposition scarcely exists in the United States … it is nearly always impossible to refer precisely to “the” opposition, for the coalition that opposes the government on one matter may fall apart, or even govern, on another.”While it is true that “the” opposition is not institutionalized as a definite cohesive, persistent, distinctive group in American politics, it is also true that there has usually been an identifiable minority party in Congress. Though it does not always oppose the majority, and cannot be expected to be synonymous with “the” opposition very often, it does persist. Despite handsome invitations to disband—in the form of successive defeats at the polls—a sizeable number of congressmen, senators, and congressional candidates continue to call themselves Republicans and to organize as such in Congress.

Text of Resolution Which Entered the United States into World War

1917 ◽  
Vol 85 (17) ◽  
pp. 455-456
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
The United States ◽  
World War ◽  
German Government ◽  
The People ◽  
Successful Termination ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government

The following is the text of the resolutions which officially entered the United States into the world war:— “Whereas the imperial German government has committed repeated acts of war against the government and the people of the United States of America; therefore be it “Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in congress assembled, that the state of war between the United States and the imperial German government, which has thus been thrust upon the United States, is hereby formally declared; and that the President be and he is hereby authorized and directed to employ the entire naval and military forces of the United States and the resources of the government to carry on war against the imperial German government; and to bring the conflict to a successful termination all of the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States.”

The Violence of Inequality: Race and Lobbying in the Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 68-93
Author(s):  
Sappho Xenakis ◽  
Leonidas K. Cheliotis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Criminal Justice Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Us

There is no shortage of scholarly and other research on the reciprocal relationship that inequality bears to crime, victimisation and contact with the criminal justice system, both in the specific United States context and beyond. Often, however, inequality has been studied in conjunction with only one of the three phenomena at issue, despite the intersections that arguably obtain between them–and, indeed, between their respective connections with inequality itself. There are, moreover, forms of inequality that have received far less attention in pertinent research than their prevalence and broader significance would appear to merit. The purpose of this chapter is dual: first, to identify ways in which inequality’s linkages to crime, victimisation and criminal justice may relate to one another; and second, to highlight the need for a greater focus than has been placed heretofore on the role of institutionalised inequality of access to the political process, particularly as this works to bias criminal justice policy-making towards the preferences of financially motivated state lobbying groups at the expense of disadvantaged racial minorities. In so doing, the chapter singles out for analysis the US case and, more specifically, engages with key extant explanations of the staggering rise in the use of imprisonment in the country since the 1970s.

scholarly journals OLD AND FORGOTTEN? CARE FOR ELDERS IN MEXICO AND THE U.S.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S64-S65
Author(s):  
Emma Aguila ◽  
Jaqueline L Angel ◽  
Kyriakos Markides
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Health Care Financing ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
The Government ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The United States and Mexico differ greatly in the organization and financing of their old-age welfare states. They also differ politically and organizationally in government response at all levels to the needs of low-income and frail citizens. While both countries are aging rapidly, Mexico faces more serious challenges in old-age support that arise from a less developed old-age welfare state and economy. For Mexico, financial support and medical care for older low-income citizens are universal rights, however, limited fiscal resources for a large low-income population create inevitable competition among the old and the young alike. Although the United States has a more developed economy and well-developed Social Security and health care financing systems for the elderly, older Mexican-origin individuals in the U.S. do not necessarily benefit fully from these programs. These institutional and financial problems to aging are compounded in both countries by longer life spans, smaller families, as well as changing gender roles and cultural norms. In this interdisciplinary panel, the authors of five papers deal with the following topics: (1) an analysis of old age health and dependency conditions, the supply of aging and disability services, and related norms and policies, including the role of the government and the private sector; (2) a binational comparison of federal safety net programs for low-income elderly in U.S. and Mexico; (3) when strangers become family: the role of civil society in addressing the needs of aging populations; and (4) unmet needs for dementia care for Latinos in the Hispanic-EPESE.

The Vanishing Marginals and Electoral Responsiveness

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Ansolabehere ◽  
David Brady ◽  
Morris Fiorina
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Political System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Divided Government ◽  
Sharp Decline ◽  
The Us ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Safe House

Nearly two decades ago researchers pointed out the sharp decline in marginal districts in elections for the US House of Representatives. That observation led to an outpouring of research describing the electoral changes, explaining their bases and speculating about their consequences for the larger political system. Recently Gary Jacobson has offered a major corrective to that line of research, arguing that ‘House incumbents are no safer now than they were in the 1950s; the marginals, properly defined, have not vanished; the swing ratio has diminished little, if at all; and competition for House seats held by incumbents has not declined’. While Jacobson advances an extremely provocative argument, there are complicating patterns in his evidence that support additional and/or different interpretations. We argue that the marginals, ‘properly defined’ have diminished, the swing ratio has declined, and party competition for House seats held by incumbents has lessened. While fears that the vanishing marginals phenomenon would lead to lower responsiveness on the part of ‘safe’ House incumbents have proved groundless, the collective composition of Congress does appear to be less responsive to changes in popular sentiments. Thus, the vanishing marginals have contributed to the occurrence of divided government in the United States and in all likelihood do have the effects on congressional leadership and policy-making that many analysts have claimed.

scholarly journals LBJ, LBJ, How Many Kids Did You Ignore Today?

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-143
Author(s):  
Rory Fidler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Military ◽  
Johnson Administration ◽  
American System ◽  
Actual Effectiveness ◽  
The Government ◽  
North Vietnam

The actual effectiveness of the American anti-war movement from 1964-68 and its attempts to sway the policy of President Johnson's administration on the topic of the Vietnam War is debatable. While popular myth has exaggerated the role of protestors in stopping the war, the movement failed to alter state policy on the war in any serious fashion. The anti-war movement could not develop a universal policy of their aims, differing from a gradual exit from Vietnam to a complete anarchist overthrow of the American system, and as such were unable to lobby the government effectively. Within the war itself, however, the Johnson administration and the United States Military encountered a stronger stimulus to reconsider their involvement: the inability to adapt to a guerilla war, the immense man power and resources required to ensure victory, and ultimately the communist Tet offensive of 1968 pushing American forces back. When President Johnson did seek to negotiate with North Vietnam at the end of his term, it was because America had simply failed to beat the Vietcong.

Our Columnists on the A-Bomb

1950 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
Janet Besse ◽  
Harold D. Lasswell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
General Theory ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject

Opinion differs about the role of syndicated columnists in the forming of national opinion and in the decision-making process in the United States. Our columnists have been the subject of pioneering studies, but we have a long way to go before the picture can be called historically complete, scientifically precise, or fully satisfactory for policy-making purposes. What the columnists say is an important chapter in the history of the American public, and history is most useful for critical purposes when written close to the event. The general theory of communication and politics can be refined as the details of the opinion process are more fully known.

scholarly journals John Caldwell Calhoun and his political role in United States of America (1782-1850).

2018 ◽  
Vol 217 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-134
Author(s):  
Haydar Shaker Khames ( Ph.D)
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
South Carolina ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Vice President ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legislative Council ◽  
Political Role

      This research deals with the political role of one of the pioneers of American policy in the nineteenth century,  John Caldwell Calhoun, and his ideas and philosophy in addressing the central issues in the domestic and foreign policy of the United States of America by virtue of the important sites that filled namely: Member of the Legislative Council of the State of South Carolina between 1807-1811 , a member of the House of Representatives between 1811-1817, Secretary of the Treasury between 1817 - 1825, Vice President between 1825-1832, a member of the Senate between 1833-1850, Foreign Minister between 1844-1845.

scholarly journals Networks of modern intellectuals in pursuit of overcoming crisis trends: theoretical-applied aspect

2020 ◽  
pp. 74-90
Author(s):  
Nikita Nikolaevich Ravochkin ◽  
Valerii Nikolaevich Bobrikov
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Behavioral Strategies ◽  
Applied Aspect ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Function

This article examines the role of networks of intellectuals in the aspect of seeking ways to overcome the current crises (primarily political-legal) trends. The object of this research is the networks of modern intellectuals. The authors clarify the concept of the networks of intellectuals, review the structural elements and relationship models between the participants. Leaning on the contemporary scientific material, the article describes most popular relationship strategies between the users of the networks of intellectuals and the government. Practical examples of relationships between the U. S. and European intellectuals along with the key difference in the applied strategies are analyzed. Among the main conclusions, the authors note the peculiarities of interaction inside and between various networks of intellectual; however, confrontation between the opponents appeared to be most constructive. Networks of intellectuals can be formed and function for several centuries and on the territories of multiple countries, launching functional chains presented by the developed ideas and concepts. The applied analysis demonstrate that intellectuals of the United States and Europe (despite commonality of views) adhere to different behavioral strategies in their relationship with the authorities: being in management structures or holding a position of independent experts respectively.

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