The Organizational Cartel Persists, 1891–2011

Author(s):  
Jeffery A. Jenkins ◽  
Charles Stewart

This chapter examines leadership selection after the Reed Rules and the persistence of the organizational cartel in the House of Representatives during the period 1891–2011. It begins by discussing factional divisions and further threats to the caucus organization before considering the progressive Republicans' 1910 revolt against Speaker Joseph G. Cannon as well as the Democrats' return to power and control of the House from the 62nd through 65th Congresses (1911–1919). It then analyzes the rift between progressive and conservative elements in the Republican Party that challenged the party monopoly over the House's makeup. Despite these problematic events and other issues, along with severe regional divisions within the majority Democratic Party, the chapter shows that the binding party caucus and organizational cartel survived and flourished through the present day.

Author(s):  
Jeffery A. Jenkins ◽  
Charles Stewart

This chapter examines the speakership elections of 1849 and 1855–1856, the most chaotic instances of officer selection in the history of the House of Representatives. It considers how the Second Party System weakened and eventually collapsed as the slavery issue overwhelmed the interregional partisanship that had been in place for two decades. It also discusses the emergence of new political parties, such as the Free-Soil Party, the American Party, and the Republican Party, that created new avenues for coalitional organization. In particular, it looks at the rise of the Republican Party as the primary opposition party to the Democrats. Finally, it describes how the rising popularity of the new parties in congressional elections affected politicians in both the Whig Party and the Democratic Party.


1976 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
George C. Edwards

Presidential prestige or popularity has often been cited as an important source of presidential influence in Congress. It has not been empirically and systematically demonstrated, however, that such a relationship exists. This study examines a variety of relationships between presidential prestige and presidential support in the U.S. House of Representatives. The relationships between overall national presidential popularity on the one hand and overall, domestic, and foreign policy presidential support in the House as a whole and among various groups of congressmen on the other are generally weak. Consistently strong relationships are found between presidential prestige among Democratic party identifiers and presidential support among Democratic congressmen. Similar relationships are found between presidential prestige among the more partisan Republican party identifiers and the presidential support by Republican congressmen. Explanations for these findings are presented, and the findings are related to broader questions of American politics.


Author(s):  
Jeffery A. Jenkins ◽  
Charles Stewart

This chapter examines the emergence of the organizational cartel based on caucus decision making during the period 1861–1891. It considers how the caucus-induced, organizational arrangement solved the lingering instability that had often plagued speakership decisions during the antebellum era. It also shows how the binding party caucus on organizational matters institutionalized and evolved into an equilibrium institution, with both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party embracing the practice of keeping the organization of the House of Representatives “in the family” rather than risking potential complications on the floor. In short, the majority party had finally become an organizational cartel. The chapter explains how the organizational cartel allowed the majority party to control the election of the Speaker and other House officers, as well as the more general makeup of the chamber.


1917 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 252-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Miller Leake

When the sixty-third congress was called in extraordinary session on April 7, 1913, it was the first time since 1895 that both branches of congress and the executive had been under Democratic control. For nearly two decades the policies of the nation had been shaped and directed by the Republicans. Now after many years the minority had become the majority, and a Democratic President sat in the White House. In the congressional elections of 1910, dissatisfaction with the Payne-Aldrich tariff and the growing friction between the conservative and progressive wings of the Republican party had given the Democrats a net gain of 56 seats in the house of representatives, and control of that body by a majority of 66 votes. The senate during the sixty-second congress, however, still remained Republican by a majority of 10 votes. In 1912 the three-cornered presidential contest had resulted in the election of Wilson by an unprecedented electoral vote, although he did not have a majority of the popular vote cast. The schism in the ranks of the Republican party and the drift that had set in toward the Democratic ticket had increased the Democratic representation in the lower branch of congress to 290, while the Republican representation had fallen to 145, including 18 Progressives who did not go into the Republican caucus and who could not always be counted on to vote with the minority. In the senate the Democrats had gained enough seats to give them a majority of 6, a net gain of 16 seats over their membership in the sixty-second congress.


2018 ◽  
pp. 133-146
Author(s):  
Maciej RÓŻEWICZ

The paper presents the election results of the Democratic Party in the midterm elections 2010. The consequences of these elections encompassed the loss of seats in both houses of Congress as well as the much more painful outcome of the Republican Party winning a majority in the House of Representatives. President Obama assumed complete responsibility for this defeat, and the next two years for him will mean cooperation with the GOP, which will be difficult given the financial crisis. Midterm elections traditionally undermine the party of the President in office – power drains from those who wield it. There always are people who are disappointed with the current policy of the administration, however, in 2010 we can talk about a political earthquake. Apart from the ‘midterm elections effect’, the success of the Republican Party partly resulted from the difficult economic situation and the reform of the health care system. A significant feature of this campaign involved the Tea Party movement, which won a considerable support owing to its critical attitude to President Obama’s domestic policy.


2005 ◽  
pp. 29-30
Author(s):  
Naveen Sharma ◽  
William Stanley

Author(s):  
Phillip Drew

The years since the beginning of the twenty-first century have seen a significant incursion of international human rights law into the domain that had previously been the within the exclusive purview of international humanitarian law. The expansion of extraterritorial jurisdiction, particularly by the European Court of Human Rights, means that for many states, the exercise of physical power and control over an individual outside their territory may engage the jurisdiction of human rights obligations. Understanding the expansive tendencies of certain human rights tribunals, and the apparent disdain they have for any ambiguity respecting human rights, it is offered that the uncertain nature of the law surrounding humanitarian relief during blockades could leave blockading forces vulnerable to legal challenge under human rights legislation, particularly in cases in which starvation occurs as a result of a blockade.


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